[identity profile] aures.livejournal.com posting in [community profile] omonatheydid
In this series I want to go through groups that are gone, but not forgotten. I will go from debut till disbandment or [indefinite] hiatus, remembering the time we had together and look back on their highs and lows.

Pristin



Pristin (stylized as PRISTIN) was a South Korean girl group formed by Pledis Entertainment in 2016. The group was composed of ten members: Nayoung, Roa, Yuha, Eunwoo, Rena, Kyulkyung, Yehana, Sungyeon, Xiyeon and Kyla. The group disbanded on May 24, 2019 when only 3 of the 10 members renewed their contract with Pledis Entertainment.

Pre-debut
The members Nayoung, Roa, Yuha, Eunwoo, Rena, Kyulkyung and Xiyeon competed together on Mnet's survival television show Produce 101, which aired from January 22 to April 1, 2016. While five of the members were eliminated, Nayoung and Kyulkyung became part of the final line-up for the project girl group I.O.I, which made its debut on May 4 with the single "Dream Girls".

Pledis Girlz
The group was officially announced as Pledis Girlz by Pledis Entertainment on March 23, 2016. On the same day, Eunwoo was featured on the song "Sickness" by Seventeen's Vernon as part of the soundtrack for the webtoon Love Revolution. Pledis Girlz held concerts from May 14 to September 10, 2016, in which the members performed weekly, with the exception of Nayoung and Kyulkyung, who were promoting with I.O.I at the time.

On June 27, they released the promotional single "We", which was written by Roa, Eunwoo, Sungyeon and Xiyeon. The music video for the song was used to introduce the members' profiles.

They held their last concert as Pledis Girlz, entitled Bye & Hi, on January 6, 2017, and then renamed to Pristin, a portmanteau of the words "prismatic" (bright and clear) and "elastin" (flawless strength).

2017–2018: Debut, moderate success and Pristin V
On March 2, 2017, Pledis Entertainment announced the group's debut through a teaser image.
On March 21, Pristin debuted and released their first mini album Hi! Pristin, accompanied by the title track "Wee Woo". They became the first rookie girl group to perform their debut song on a live broadcast during Mnet Present.



Although Pristin did not get their first win with Wee Woo, they enjoyed moderate success, with the album entering the Gaon Album Chart at number 4 for that week. In March alone, Pristin had sold 23,519 copies of their album, and by June 2017, they sold 42,299 copies.

Pristin was also part of the line-up for the KCON festival held in Japan on May 19.
On the same day, a remixed version of "Black Widow" was released as the album's second and final single, which was performed on a few music shows in order to conclude Hi Pristin's promotions.



On June 3, they performed at the 2017 Dream Concert at the Seoul World Cup Stadium.

Their second mini album Schxxl Out was released on August 23, along with the single "We Like". Pristin also enjoyed moderate success with this album, as it debuted at number 4 on the Gaon Album Chart for that week. Pristin also ranked at number 5 in a list of GG brand reputation rankings for September 2017.



The lyrics for We Like got changed, although Pledis never gave a statement about it, people speculated that the lyrics were criticized for alleging that it's difficult to see a woman paying the bill. Netizens also pointed out that the new, changed lyrics sounded better than the original ones.

Member Kyla had long been criticized by netizens for not being “skinny enough” to be an idol. Netizens made edits comparing her body to that of her members and much more. The hate only got worse, as Pristin held a fan sign to promote “Schxxl Out” where Kyla was given individual time to pose for the cameras and fansites but was largely ignored by them in favor of her members. On October 12, 2017, Pledis Ent announced that Kyla would take a break from activities due to health issues (much later, Kyla explained on her youtube channel she took a break because of a concussion). Kyla returned to the USA temporarily. Kyla's brother also had some online controversies, hurting her reputation even more.

By the end of 2017 Pristin performed at many awards shows and did very well, winning four Rookie of the Year (ROTY) awards. After awards season ended, many fans were expecting news about a Pristin comeback but got nothing. Pledis ignored fan questions and remained radio silent on the topic of Pristin’s comeback and Kyla’s health, which frustrated many fans. As a result, fans started to worry about the status of the group, whether they would have a comeback, and if Kyla would return to activities.

Things remained this way for about 8–9 months until May 2018, when Pledis announced the formation of PRISTIN V, consisting of members Nayoung, Roa, Eunwoo, Rena and Kyulkyung.



PRISTIN V was Pristin’s first and only subunit. It was speculated that Pledis was attempting to create a smaller Pristin with the more popular members and that this would be the group that was focused on, with the other 5 members getting little to no group activities.

PRISTIN V debuted May 28, 2018 with the single album “Like a V”, consisting of the title track “Get It” and the b-side “Spotlight”. “Like a V” peaked at number 5 on the Gaon Music Chart and “Get It” charted at 6 internationally. However, “Get It” failed to chart in Korea and did not do as well as Pristin’s previous releases. Promotions for “Get It” ended in mid-June.





After promotions for “Like a V” ended, there was little to no news on Pristin once again. On August 31st, 2018, Pledis released news that Kyulkyung would be making her solo debut in China with the single “Why” on September 6th. Kyulkyung continued to receive work in China, but there was no news about the other members or any sort of activities. The members themselves even stopped updating their Twitter and Instagram accounts. During this time, rumors began to pop up that member Xiyeon had terminated her contract with Pledis. Pledis quickly clarified saying it was false, but discontent over the lack of news contained to grow. Reports of member Kyla working at a carnival in L.A. surfaced, and rumors of disbandment began circulating Pristin.

As the year went on, a deleted report that Kyla had terminated her contract with Pledis surfaced. Although her sister clarified it was just a rumor, Pledis released no statement on it. The lack of news and no comebacks made fans furious.

In December of 2018, fans stuck Post-It notes to the walls of Pledis’s company building in hopes of galvanizing the company into giving Pristin a comeback. Not only were these notes ignored, the company didn't even take them down, showing that they were refusing to acknowledge the fans and Pristin. Pristin attended no end-of-year awards shows. 2018 ended with no news about the group.

2019: Disbandment
On February 15th, 2019, member Xiyeon attended her high school graduation. Usually when idols graduate, there is a special panel where they may take pictures with their members and the press may take photos of them. Pledis did not arrange for Xiyeon to get this treatment. She arrived at her own graduation ceremony via taxi, instead of a company car with a manager. All the pictures taken of her that day were candid, fan-taken photos. She did not receive any special awards which are common for idols to receive. Only one other member showed up at Xiyeon’s graduation, Sungyeon. All these and more led fans to believe that disbandment was imminent for Pristin, as the girls were not being treated like idols.

In April of 2019, the members began to open their own social media accounts. Usually, when this is done, it is a sign that a group is going to disband or is less focused on group work and more on solo work. While this is normal for a group that has been together for 5+ years, Pristin was barely two years old. Their second anniversary passed with no posts from their official accounts.

On May 24th, 2019, it was announced that Pristin had disbanded. Pledis announced that while members Kyulkyung, Yehana, and Sungyeon would stay with the company, the other seven members had all terminated their contracts and left Pledis.

Hinapia



Hinapia was a South Korean girl group formed by OSR Entertainment. The group was composed of five members: Minkyeung, Yaebin, Gyeongwon, Eunwoo, and Bada.

Minkyeung, Yaebin, Gyeongwon, and Eunwoo previously debuted as members of the girl group Pristin. On October 21, 2019, the aforementioned members were announced to be re-debuting under AlSeulBit Entertainment, which was renamed OSR Entertainment shortly after, alongside an additional member named Bada. On October 24, the group was revealed to be named Hinapia, which is an abbreviation of "Hi New Amazing Utopia".

2019: Debut with New Start
Hinapia performed their debut single "Drip" prior to its release on the music program Show Champion during its October 30, 2019 broadcast. The group formally released the single on November 3, 2019 as the lead single of the single album titled New Start. A showcase for the album titled Pursuit of a New Utopia was held the following day. "Drip" debuted and peaked at number 18 on the World Digital Songs Sales chart issued on November 16, 2019, making Hinapia the eleventh South Korean girl group to appear on the chart with their debut single. The group was subsequently nominated for Best Super Rookie at the 2019 K-Champ Awards.




2020: Disbandment

On February 2, 2020, it had been reported that Hinapia were aiming to release their sophomore album sometime in early 2020, in which the group will showcase "a more mature look than before".

On August 21, 2020, however, OSR Entertainment announced that the group had disbanded and that the members had their contracts terminated.

Previous:
Nine Muses, 4Minute, Girl's Day, Sistar, Secret, Orange Caramel, Rainbow, 2NE1, Dalshabet, Stellar, Miss A, After School, Spica, Hello Venus, Wonder Girls, f(x), Crayon Pop, WA$$UP, BESTie & GLAM, I.O.I.

Sources: Gifer, omona, Mnet K-POP, Hinapia, Pristin, quora, Soompi, MBCkpop, KBS kpop, noraemagazine, ALL THE K-POP


I would love to hear what you think about this week. Their story is just so unfortunate. Let me know what you think about all the issues with these groups? What would you have done differently? Can we fully blame Pledis for this or do you think there's more to the story?
I didn't go into their dating rumours with Seventeen simply because I couldn't find good sources. I also didn't go into Kyla's brother (for obvious reasons) but you can click the link for more information, but i would love to hear your opinion on those things as well. Earlier this year Kyla released new music, did you guys listen to it? Did you enjoy it?
Thank you as always for stopping by and for all the support! See you next time ♥

Date: 2020-09-05 12:28 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dior-chic.livejournal.com
Pristin!!!! They were literal super rookies, garnering so much attention with their debut and their future looked so bright, their star burned out so quickly 😭😭😭

Wee Woo is one of my favorite debuts, it’s just so catchy and fun to watch on stage!! Black Widow and Running was a great b-side, We was really lovely too. Overall their first mini was solid. We Like isn’t my favorite but it was still a fun follow up song, but I don’t like how it was treated like a failure. They were just getting started and Pledis is no nugu company, so I don’t like that implication that I’ve read on other sites that We Like played a part in Pledis losing interest in supporting them.

Get It did nothing for me and the whole ‘let’s promote the pretty members’ pisses me off, so I’m glad I skipped that era.

Hinapia I was so excited after all the shit went down but their debut did nothing for me also. And then that fell apart too so 🙃

Like last week I talked about IOI having a charming cast of characters, same could be said for Pristin. It was really easy for me to learn each member and I genuinely really liked them all together. That might be why I’m not super into the subunits as I liked all 10 together. My bias was of course Nayoung, shes proof it’s not all about talent in kpop (this is a very backhanded compliment) but I just love watching her dance, she’s so pretty lol. But also loved Yehana’s perky personality and lovely vocals, Xiyeon was so charismatic - all that training wasted, I hope she’s happy as an actress but I miss seeing her on stage :(((

I’ll still root for the girls regardless, but Yebin sang a long to the n-word on a song and apologized but still brought up that she knows Americans are sensitive about it, not verbatim but something like that she said. Maybe it was simply wrong choice of words but it really rubbed me the wrong way so I won’t be following her. Also, some rumors under this spoiler there was a discord conversation of some people who know Kyla~ and said Kyla brought up that Yebin bullied her and attacked her weight often. That there was a cliquey atmosphere inside Pristin that caused problems and played a part in their disbandment, that Pristin was more problems than what they worth. Nayoung, Yehana, Shannon were sweet to Kyla, some members were polite but not involved, but the Hinapia members were the ones that were cliquey.

Now why I say rumors - no receipts are provided and it really could be some random people starting shit for fun 🤷♀️ So it’s something I can see happening but it really isn’t fact for now.

Also Pristin fast disbandment basically sealed my interest in Pledis girl groups. I don’t mess with FNC and YG for much bigger reasons but Pledis track record with their girl groups really annoys me. History keeps repeating and I’ve been burnt twice now with Pristin and After School so I honestly hope Pledis just focuses on boy groups here on out. I saw some line saying they have no intention of debuting a girl group anytime soon and I went ‘thank god’ lol

Date: 2020-09-05 04:19 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] chikage-chan.livejournal.com
I totally believe there was some internal beef that made Pledis think Pristin might be more trouble than they were worth in the long run, tbh. Maybe an AOA situation was building up there and they wanted to avoid the bad press it would bring the whole company by cutting their losses.
Pledis should definitely be held accountable for their fuck ups as a company, but business are business in the end and I can't seen them dropping a rookie group that was getting a pretty good deal of attention like that unless there was something else going on.

Date: 2020-09-05 12:38 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dior-chic.livejournal.com
I already said too much in my last comment but I also forgot to add

- How Kyla was treated related to her weight was truly disgusting, no wonder dieting and starvation is held so important as Kyla was torn apart online and like Esna said in her video recently, a company will side with those commenters fat shaming instead of protecting their own idol

- I really wish Shannon/Sungyeon and Yehana didn’t stay with Pledis, they’re both lovely singers and as usual we hear nothing from them :(
I know Kyulkyung has a lawsuit going on with Pledis and I can’t remember if that is done with yet. I want her to be happy in China

- oh and I did listen to Kyla’s new music! I’ll admit I haven’t listened to it since but for a first attempt it wasn’t bad! She has potential if she keeps at it :)
Edited Date: 2020-09-05 12:52 pm (UTC)

Date: 2020-09-06 09:19 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] lizanka23.livejournal.com
the companies are the ones fatshaming most of the time though and encouraging eating disorders when they tell idols they can't debut unless they lose a ton of weight in like only two weeks or they weigh them in front of other people to shame them for their weight. the culture of perfection needs to change in general in kpop, so you can have someone like an adele or lizzo be famous in korea

Date: 2020-09-05 12:46 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] adenar.livejournal.com
I remember when Kaeun went on Produce 48, in her intro she talked about the sadness of seeing the Pristin members (who she trained with) going on Produce 101 and debuting and promoting extensively while she and After School had already been shelved unofficially and wishing that she hadn't debuted and was still training with them, and how that became a sentiment echoed in the fandom for a long time. Now it's like, whelp, she'd have been screwed over either way.

I truly believe that OSR were planning to release an album and then they postponed for COVID, and then postponed again for COVID, and eventually the postponements got too much and they had to cut their losses. The nugu groups who've survived the pandemic so far are the ones who pushed through and promoted regardless of the ability to interact with fans, which would have been hard to predict way back when this all started. If OSR had pushed through and released the album and turned to online fanmeets etc like other groups did I think Hinapia would have had a much better chance, but who can tell.

The ongoing mystery for me will be what's happening with the Pristin members who decided to stay with Pledis? I'm fairly certain one will turn to composing/producing but idk about the others.

At least Kyla seems happier these days - I'm grateful for ex-trainees like her and ex-SM/Idol School Herin who are out on social media talking even a bit about the situations they've been in and how leaving it was ultimately best for them. I think it helps put things in perspective for fans who are getting a bit too into the glitter and facade of kpop, and also hopefully helps younger fans learn that it's ok to get up and leave a situation if that's best for you, no matter how much work you've put into it. It's so crazy to remember that both Herin and Kyla are only eighteen when they've been known to the kpop community for so long.

Date: 2020-09-05 02:40 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] myungung.livejournal.com
I think Shannon/Sungyeon and Yehana are pretty into composing, so they probably thought they could carve something out by producing with a mid-tier company like Pledis. and who knows maybe Pledis might even give them solo song opportunities like they did with Raina (but I'm really doubting, though I can see them thinking it might turn out that way?)

tbh the idol life is pretty tough, with a lot of pressure and mentally draining things happening around. I hope more idols are able to talk about it so that the young ones can try to understand better instead of looking through rose-tinted glasses. I feel like a lot of idols have also emphasised on the passion to perform as a big push factor, instead of being famous or getting close to celebrities, which needs to be said louder especially if they can't talk about the shit that goes behind the scenes.

Date: 2020-09-05 06:48 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] vintage-boom.livejournal.com
I wouldn't be surprised now that BigHit owns both source and pledis is they transfer all their female trainees to source for their new gg that's being put together by the ex-sm creative director

Date: 2020-09-05 02:49 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] myungung.livejournal.com
tbh, Pristin had a pretty good buildup pre-debut. they capitalised on the P101 hype with the concerts and then released songs and dance covers, which also helped to boost the other members popularity instead of just Nayoung and Jieqiong. there wasn't also a lot of focus on the 2 IOI members, which I felt helped make the performances more enjoyable. But Pledis being Pledis, of course they don't know how to manage groups long term (I mean even their 2 BGs achieved success on their own in spite of Pledis).

it will always remain a pity that Pristin wasn't able to hit bigger. Xiyeon was such an all rounder, and I do feel that her potential is wasted. But if she still wants to continue being an actress (saw news about her considering a role few months back), then I wish her all the best. there's also the sad fact that there's a vocal portion of people that only wanted the 7 who went on P101, and didn't welcome Sungyeon, Yehana and Kyla that well. which is another wasted potential because Sungyeon has great vocals and probably one of their better dancers, and Yehana was always so bright in performances and catching my eye along with her vocals. I didn't like Kyla's release though, it wasn't my style of music but I wish her well.

I used to feel that Nayoung was given a little too much focus considering her dance rap and vocals weren't top tier and it felt like she wasn't always putting in energy. but looking back, I felt that maybe she focused on wanting to be a good leader that she couldn't shine in the performance aspect. in IOI and Pristin, it does feel like the members look up to her and she probably gave her best to look after them as the eldest too. I hope Jieqiong can continue her career in China, because I'm always wary of companies when they say the artists are not holding up their side of the contract.

I don't really have much comments about the other members, but Eunwoo and Gyeongwon were wasted talents too sadly. and I'm probably the few that like We Like (they were also the first to popularise du du du du). Wee Woo was not what I wanted from Pristin, but the MV is fun and a bright debut. ok comment is too long, but wow Pristin such a waste

Date: 2020-09-05 04:44 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] myrrhcat.livejournal.com
i also like We Like.

We Like We Like!

Date: 2020-09-05 05:10 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dior-chic.livejournal.com
Nayoung I liked on stage quite a bit, maybe not the most energetic but my eyes still sought her out the most. Probably because she’s my bias lol

I see though she models often now and I really think that’s best for her, she’s a visual and that’s where her strength is in. I’d love to see her have at least one solo song but she’d have to put in some vocal lessons first imo (which she might be??? I think I saw her talk about vocal lessons at least once) I don’t think she’ll ever be an amazing singer but she could improve if she puts in the effort.

Date: 2020-09-07 03:46 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] myungung.livejournal.com
I think she's gonna go into acting since she has quite a few cameos. and I think she was in a few variety appearances recently (I also think there's this double package with Hani since they're in the same company)? I'm just worried that at her age she might find it harder to make a name for herself because she can't always act as a teenager/younger version now, and she's not good enough to take on lead roles yet.

Date: 2020-09-05 04:50 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] myrrhcat.livejournal.com
it's still hard for me to process what happened to pristin. i KNEW pledis was shit and i knew how they treated AS, but with their predebut promotions and their success on pd101, and the ROTY award, they had everything going for them. so much potential and so much money was left on the table.

on one hand, i could see most of the members being disillusioned w/ the industry after this and not coming back. but on the other hand, i could also see plenty of them going on to become successful, and pristin becoming just a part of their origin story. like how i.o.i was a launching pad, pristin might be like that too.

i've also heard the rumors about some of the members having bad personalities, but i put zero stock in groupchats from stan twitter. people will literally say anything on there.

oh! as for pristin's discography, i like all of their singles A LOT but the b-sides are just ok to me. except black widow. that is a badass song. i like how consistent they were with the "we" and "hi" themes too.
Edited Date: 2020-09-05 04:52 pm (UTC)

Date: 2020-09-05 04:54 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] vintage-boom.livejournal.com
my favourite rookie girls T_T I loved everything they did, all their music reminds me of early 2000s movies.

Date: 2020-09-05 07:20 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] kyulkyung.livejournal.com
lol omona hated their debut and first (and only) comeback so much, posting about them wasn't fun at all back then.. oh well it just wasn't meant to be

Date: 2020-09-06 09:23 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] lizanka23.livejournal.com
omona hates on everything. it's like it thrives on negativity lol

Date: 2020-09-05 10:42 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] goshipgurl.livejournal.com
Drip >>> Pristin's entire discography

Date: 2020-09-06 02:57 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] frequency.livejournal.com
pledis really wasted pristin's potential tbh. i liked their (small) discography quite a bit. my favorite b-side is tina!

i liked drip a lot, but i kind of expected hinapia wouldn't last. i felt like a lot of pristin fans just didn't really bother w/ hinapia?? i wish someone would prove me wrong tho. :(

Date: 2020-09-06 02:02 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dior-chic.livejournal.com
Yea I noticed that too, that Pristin fans didn’t follow Hinapia like I thought they would. I think because 1) quite a bit of time had passed, A lot of Pristin fans moved on and 2) I know there’s a decent portion of kpop fans who don’t bother with nugu groups, so maybe no longer being under Pledis made them lose interest

Date: 2020-09-07 05:01 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] epona.livejournal.com
i think without covid hinapia definitely would've stuck around for a couple of years.

Date: 2020-09-06 08:05 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] broadcities.livejournal.com
i didn't follow them at all but i always felt for these girls - what happened to kyla saddens me so much, the beauty standard in kpop and korea is just horrible

Date: 2020-09-06 08:52 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] aleksu7.livejournal.com
I'm sorry but hinapia has disbanded???? Wtf I didn't know... Jesus
So much talent wasted. I'm mad at this shit tbh. Fuck pledis

Date: 2020-09-06 09:25 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] lizanka23.livejournal.com
although i wasn't really a fan of their music i still enjoyed their performances and it's so sad to see them break up. i hope pledis learns from its mistakes and manages their next girl group better

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